Keith Spano, president of Flooring America, and his team continue to take an aggressive stance when it comes to leading the group’s membership into the future. Over the last couple of years, Spano has changed the voice of Flooring America, bringing technology to the forefront and smartly going after emerging markets.

Last month, the company hosted its more than 500 independent floor covering dealers in Phoenix at what it called ConneXtion — its bi-annual convention that focuses on connecting with the consumer.

“This was the best attendance since 2008,” noted Frank Chiera, vice president of marketing.

And, added Spano, 45 percent of membership was up more than 20 percent in 2013 — “a stellar performance,” he said. “I think we are outpacing our competitors. We are on the offence. Members are reinvesting in showrooms and now they are taking market share.”

The executives said that Flooring America’s success has been a result of working a three-year plan that is the vision of the council. They take execution of the plan seriously and are held accountable for the outcome.

“It’s where we are going, what the membership wants and needs, different ways to approach the consumer — especially Millennials. It’s truly a roadmap,” explained Spano.

One aggressive initiative is Flooring America’s niche marketing program where it looks at emerging and different markets like Millennials, the gay and lesbian community and Latinos. For Millennials (the 25- to 35-year old group), for example, the company reported that by 2020 this group, along with Gen X, will dominate retail. They currently have $107 billion of retail spending power now, Chiera said.

Committees are formed targeting each group including a product steering committee to direct product selection and “capture the nuances of each local market,” said Chiera. Last year, the company formed a 30 Under 30 council to help go after the Millennial audience.

Having a strong digital strategy, according to Chiera, is paramount to future success and an important part of all that the company does. It is one of the areas where Flooring America now excels, he said.

“We never talk about product,” added Spano. “Everybody has product. It’s the digital strategy that drives business. We are pushing the connection; making it personal.”

In fact, Flooring America’s new app played well at convention last month. Members could order product and would be alerted when it was their turn to meet with leadership. Flooring America also used the app to poll the membership with research-based questions.

When it comes to managing one’s online reputation, Flooring America provides what it calls “triage” — a list of what they do to address any negative online comments. The group also focuses on integrating social media platforms like Houzz and Pinterest. “Our job is to bring members things they can’t do on their own,” said Chiera.

Skilled labor has become an issue for the industry coming out of the recession and Flooring America has taken on the challenge of helping its members find the right people by partnering with a university program called “Hiring for Success.” The company uses it to provide strong candidates to its members. “And we stand behind them,” said Spano.

Spano likens Flooring America’s process to surfing — paddling ahead of the wave to catch it. “We are getting ahead of the wave and it will pay dividends in the future,” said Spano. “We provide a lot of tools. We just have to get them to use them.”